Integral cast diffuser for a catalytic converter

Abstract: The present invention includes an automotive exhaust system including a catalytic converter (16) having a substrate (22) of substantial surface area and having a catalyst composition carried thereon. The catalytic converter substrate (22) is carried in a housing (24) extending the length of the catalytic converter substrate (22) and conforming to the outer surfaces of the substrate (22) and mounting material (26). A two-wall diffuser (28) is connected by an outer wall (30) to the converter housing (24) at one end (32) and to an exhaust pipe (14) at the other end (34). An inner wall (36) is spaced at a distance from the outer wall (30) and defines a diffuser portion (A-B) having an inlet cross-sectional flow area less than its outlet cross-sectional flow area. The inner wall (36) also defines an abrupt expansion section (40) which is provided between the end of the diffuser section (A-B) and an end (42) of the inner wall (36) nearest the substrate (22). The inner wall (36) ends in the region between the substrate (22) and the converter housing (24) and is free-floating and is not rigidly connected to either the converter substrate (22) or the housing (24). Thus, the inner wall (36) is free to move with thermal cycling associated with operation of the automobile combustion engine. The space (44) provided between the inner wall (36) and the outer wall (30) of the diffuser (28) provides a thermal insulating air barrier which limits the thermal expansion and contraction that the outer wall (30) experiences at its mechanical connections to the converter housing (24) and exhaust pipe (14).

Description: This invention relates to automotive and truck exhaust systems including a diffuser on the inlet end of an automotive catalytic converter as specified in the preamble of claim 1. Diffusers are well-known in the art. A diffuser is a device for reducing the velocity and increasing the static pressure of a fluid passing through the same such as in an automotive exhaust system. Diffusers of this type have an inlet cross-sectional flow area that is less than their outlet cross-sectional flow area. Often diffusers are used for the specific purpose of reducing fluid velocity or increasing fluid pressure. However, the use of a diffuser may be dictated simply by the physical requirements of an exhaust system such as increasing the cross-sectional flow area of a passage in order to connect sections of different cross-sectional area to one another. This is the situation wherein a small diameter exhaust pipe is connected to a larger diameter housing for a catalytic converter. However, such diffusers which are dictated by the physical connection between pipes of different sizes, do not necessarily allow for accurate control of fluid velocity and pressure to achieve optimum performance of an automotive combustion engine or a catalytic converter therefor. An automotive catalytic converter is used to decrease exhaust emissions by converting carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and unburned hydrocarbons present in an exhaust gas into more innocuous compounds. The catalytic converter includes a substrate which carries a catalyst for converting the aforesaid exhaust emissions. Suitable catalysts are known to those skilled in the art and include for example platinum-containing compositions. For platinum-containing compositions or compositions including other expensive metals it is important to utilise the catalytic converter in the most efficient manner. Thus, it is important to adjust the flow characteristics of the exhaust gas being treated so as to provide a uniform velocity distribution across the substrate cross-section, so that the expensive catalyst can convert the emissions whilst utilising the smallest amount of catalyst carried on the catalytic converter substrate. The uniform velocity field at the substrate inlet face is also desirable because it leads to the smallest pressure loss across the converter for a given substrate geometry and engine exhaust flow. High pressure loss leads directly to increased engine back-pressure which results in reduced engine power at high load and reduced fuel economy. The catalytic converter substrate usually is contained within a housing having a cross-sectional area substantially greater than that of an exhaust pipe running from an internal combustion engine to the catalytic converter. Accordingly, the catalytic converters are often built with a converter inlet snorkel. The snorkel has a larger cross-sectional area at one end, where it is connected to the housing surrounding the catalytic converter substrate, and a smaller cross-sectional area at the other end, where the snorkel is connected to the exhaust piping coming from the automotive engine. The snorkel may have a variety of shapes such that a cross-section thereof may be circular, elliptical, rectangular or otherwise. Although the catalytic converter snorkel in a very broad sense is a diffuser, the dimensions of the snorkel are defined solely by the physical requirements of connecting the larger cross-section housing for the catalytic converter to the smaller diameter exhaust pipe leading from the automotive engine. Thus, the snorkel does not necessarily define a diffuser which will meet the objectives of providing a sufficiently uniform converter-inlet velocity distribution (and hence the largest and most uniform residence time for the exhaust) in order to convert the exhaust emissions utilising the smallest amount of expensive metal catalyst carried on the ceramic substrate. Single-wall diffusers which connect from an exhaust pipe to an outer shell of a catalytic converter housing often suffer from thermal fatigue and creep. Hot exhaust gases directly contact the diffuser where it makes mechanical connection to the catalytic converter housing and the exhaust pipe. The thermal cycling associated with this portion of the diffuser results in thermal stresses on the connections and results in reduced durability of such an exhaust system. Furthermore, a single-wall diffuser conducts heat to the catalytic converter housing which degrades the performance and durability of the mounting insulation between the housing and the ceramic substrate. An exhaust system according to the present invention is characterised by the features specified in the characterising portion of claim 1. The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by providing a two-wall diffuser integral cast construction as described below. The present invention comprises an automotive exhaust system including a catalytic converter having a substrate of substantial surface area and having a catalyst composition carried thereon. The catalytic converter substrate is carried in a housing extending the length of the catalytic converter substrate and conforming to the outer surfaces of the substrate. The catalytic converter housing and the substrate may be separated circumferentially by a mat, metal mesh, or by other substrate mounting and sealing provisions. A two-wall diffuser is connected by an outer wall to the converter housing at one end and to an exhaust pipe at the other. An inner wall of the diffuser is spaced a distance from the outer wall thereof and defines a diffuser portion having an inlet cross-sectional flow area less than its outlet cross-sectional flow area. The inner wall also defines an abrupt expansion section which is provided between the end of the diffuser section and the end of the inner wall nearest the substrate. The inner wall has a free-floating end that is not rigidly connected to either the converter substrate or the housing. Thus, the inner wall is free to move with thermal cycling associated with operation of the automobile combustion engine. The space provided between the inner wall and the outer wall of the diffuser provides a thermal insulating air barrier which limits the thermal expansion and contraction that the outer wall experiences at its mechanical connections to the converter housing and exhaust pipe. The thermal insulating air barrier also serves to reduce the temperature of the outer wall of the diffuser, thus providing both heat loading and safety advantages and reduced noise radiated from the outer wall. These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, appended claims and accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates an automotive exhaust system including an internal combustion automotive engine wherein exhaust emissions flow from the engine through an exhaust manifold, catalytic converter, muffler and out of a tailpipe; and Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of the automotive exhaust system shown in Figure 1, including a catalytic converter substrate housing with an integral cast two-wall diffuser for the inlet end of the converter according to the present invention. An automobile exhaust system according to the present invention includes a combustion engine 10 which operates on combustible fuel such as gasoline and/or alcohol, or similar combustible fuels known to those skilled in the art. Exhaust from the combustion engine is directed through an exhaust manifold 12 into an exhaust pipe 14 which is connected to one or more catalytic converters 16. For some engines (e.g., V6, V8), two manifolds direct exhaust gas to one or more catalytic converters. The exhaust emissions flow from the catalytic converter to a muffler 18 (and other silencing components) and out of a tailpipe 20 of the exhaust system. The catalytic converter includes one or more substrates 22 with significant surface area on which a catalytic converter composition is carried. The catalytic converter composition may take a variety of forms but often includes a metal such as platinum. The catalytic converter substrate(s) are carried in a housing 24 conforming to the outer surface of the substrate. The housing contains mounting material 26 between the substrate 22 and an inner wall of the housing 24. A single-piece integral cast two-wall diffuser 28 is attached to the housing 24 at the substrate inlet end thereof. The two-wall diffuser 28 has an outer wall 30 which is mechanically connected to the housing at one end 32 by weld 33, and to the engine exhaust pipe 14 at the other end 34. At a location nearer the connection of the outer wall to the exhaust pipe, an inner wall 36 branches away from the outer wall and defines a diffuser section (between points A and B shown on Figure 2) having an inlet cross-sectional area which is less than an outlet cross-sectional area thereof. The walls of the diffuser portion are straight (or flat). The diffuser has an half-angle theta () which is defined by the angle formed between a line extending parallel to the first portion of the exhaust pipe which has a consistent diameter and a line extending parallel to the portion of the inner wall 36 defining the diffuser portion. Preferably  ranges from about 1° to about 20°. A second portion of the inner wall 36 defines an abrupt expansion section 40 for flow of the exhaust gas. The abrupt expansion section (between points B and C shown on Figure 2) has a half-angle beta (β) which ranges from about 30° to about 90° and is substantially larger than the half-angle  of the diffuser portion. One end 42 of the inner wall 36 extends into an annular region between the substrate 22 and the catalytic converter housing 24 where it comes into contact with the mounting material 26. This end 42 of the inner wall does not mechanically connect to the substrate or to the converter housing and thus is free-floating with respect to both the substrate and the housing. A space 44 is provided between the inner and outer walls of the integral cast diffuser 28, which provides a thermal insulating air gap. When exhaust gas flows through the integral cast diffuser 28, thermal stresses are borne primarily by the inner wall which is allowed to expand and contract due to its free-floating end 42. The air gap insulator limits the temperature and heat experienced by the outer wall 30 and thus substantially less thermal stress is experienced at the mechanical connections of the diffuser 28 to the housing 24 and to the exhaust pipe 14. For a typical passenger-car application, exhaust gas flowing through the diffuser flows through a cross-sectional area at point A of about 1935.48 mm 2 (3 inches 2 ) at the first end of the diffuser 28 where it is connected to the exhaust pipe 14. The exhaust gas then flows through a cross-sectional area at point B of about 4526.12 mm 2 (7 inches 2 ) at the second end of the diffuser section and through a cross-sectional area at point C of about 12903.2 mm 2 (20 inches 2 ) in the abrupt expansion section 40 near the converter substrate 22. A diffuser portion may have a length N and an inlet diameter D1, as shown in Figure 2. For improved exhaust conversion performance, the dimensions D1, , and N are defined by the following relationship:  ≤ 14 (N/D1) -0.54 . The diffuser geometry is preferably designed within the constraints of this design equation in order to provide an exhaust system with minimum pressure losses equating the maximum engine performance (power and fuel economy). The integral cast two-wall diffuser construction may be formed by casting the diffuser from a material such as stainless steel.

Claims: An exhaust system for an internal combustion engine (10) comprises a catalytic converter (16) comprising a substrate (22) having a catalyst carried thereon, a housing (24) carrying the substrate (22) and conforming substantially to an outer surface of the substrate (22), and a diffuser (28) connecting an inlet end of the housing (24) to an exhaust pipe (14) from the engine (10), characterised in that the diffuser (28) comprises a single-piece integral cast two-wall diffuser which has an outer wall (30) which is connected to the housing (24) at one end (32) and which is connected to said engine exhaust pipe (14) at the other end (34), and an inner wall (36) branching at one end away from the outer wall (30) at a location near the connection of the outer wall (30) to the engine exhaust pipe (14), the other end (42) of the inner wall (36) being located between the substrate (22) and the housing (24), the inner wall (36) being constructed and arranged to define a diffuser having an inlet cross-sectional area that is less than an outlet cross-sectional area thereof. An exhaust system according to claim 1, in which the other end of said inner wall (36) is a free-floating end (42) which is not mechanically connected to the converter housing (24). An exhaust system according to claim 1 or 2, in which said diffuser (28) has a length N, a half angle  and an inlet diameter D1, defined by a mathematical relationship in which  ≤ 14(N/D1) -0.54 . An internal combustion engine exhaust system comprising a catalytic converter (16) connected to a diffuser (28), characterised in that said diffuser is an integral cast two-wall diffuser (28).

Inventors: KREUCHER JOHN ERIC, MCCLAUGHRY III RICHARD SWIFT, SHAH RAMESH CHIMANLAL, WENDLAND DANIEL WILLIAM, KREUCHER, JOHN ERIC, MCCLAUGHRY III, RICHARD SWIFT, SHAH, RAMESH CHIMANLAL, WENDLAND, DANIEL WILLIAM
Applicants: GEN MOTORS CORP, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION
Application year: 1994
Main classification: F01N3
IPC codes: F01N3, F01N13